Mary Murphy-Diprose

I am an accredited therapeutic counsellor with experience of providing humanistic and integrative counselling and psychotherapy. This means I am comfortable using different approaches to help you understand yourself better.

I believe each person has the capacity and should have the autonomy to fulfil their personal potential. However, in our busy and demanding lives, it is all too easy to lose sight of who we are, what we want, what’s important and where we are going. Counselling provides a way to help you rebalance and find yourself. Giving yourself time to just be, to talk freely and feel fully heard and understood leads to change, development, and personal growth.

My hope is to provide you with an open, confidential, and non-judgmental space where you can come to understand yourself and the problems you are experiencing.  Perhaps you feel as if all your problems have been rammed into a suitcase, in a tangled mess, and the lid slammed shut so they can be forgotten about.  And maybe it feels terrifying to open it back up again for fear of what you might face. Counselling provides the space to help you open that suitcase, look inside, unpack, rearrange or discard what is not needed, and repack that suitcase so that you can travel forward, unencumbered, on life’s journey.

You may only want short-term work to focus on a specific problem or area of your life. I suggest a minimum of six consecutive weekly sessions to allow time for the therapeutic relationship to develop. For more deep-seated issues, I recommend an open-ended number of sessions. I offer both face-to-face and online sessions.

Currently, I am a college counsellor, working primarily with young people (16+), but also mature students.  I also work one day a week within the NHS providing psychological therapy to adults experiencing moderate to severe mental health difficulties.  I have previously provided therapeutic counselling to adults affected by substance misuse, adults with disabilities and young people in other school and college settings.  I hold an enhanced DBS certificate.  I undertake regular continuing professional development to ensure I support my clients ethically and competently.

As the therapeutic relationship is fundamental to the counselling process, it is essential that you feel comfortable with whomever you choose as your therapist. I offer an introductory 20-minute online session free of charge. This allows us to meet and start exploring how we might work together.